


light colored candles in dark dreary mines

by RhymeReason



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Homophibia, M/M, Nightmares, Slurs, closet, mention of overdose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-25 01:25:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10753863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhymeReason/pseuds/RhymeReason
Summary: Jack Zimmermann knew about nightmares. They had plagued him for years, tormenting his sleeping self for as long as he could remember.They got worse in the weeks leading to the overdose and almost intolerable in the weeks after. They had become more rare as the years went on but Jack still knew all about them.So when Bitty, who usually slept very peacefully, kicked Jack awake in the middle of the night, he knew that something was very wrong.





	light colored candles in dark dreary mines

**Author's Note:**

> Heads up, there is a lot of slurs used in the very first part of the fic, so be careful

_ “Gay!” _

_ “Pussy!” _

_ “Homo!” _

_ “Fag!” _

_ “Faggot!” _

_ The voices echoed in Eric's head. The thud of a thick wooden door slamming and the dull clang of a deadbolt being locked followed.  _

_ His body ached everywhere. Even though it was dark in the utility closet, Eric could feel bruises forming on his torso, his legs, his arms, everywhere. He could still feel their kicks and punches on his skin and he would feel them every time he moved for the next few weeks. _

_ It was a Friday night, after a football game. The likeness of someone coming into the school before Monday was slim. He was stuck.   _

_ Eric set his head on his knees and sobbed.  _

  
  


Jack Zimmermann knew about nightmares. They had plagued him for years, tormenting his sleeping self for as long as he could remember.They got worse in the weeks leading to the overdose and almost intolerable in the weeks after. They had become more rare as the years went on but Jack still knew all about them. 

So when Bitty, who usually slept very peacefully, kicked Jack awake in the middle of the night, he knew that something was very wrong. 

“Bitty?” Jack murmured, looking down at his boyfriend. Bitty was curled in a tight ball, one hand clenched in the front of Jack's shirt. His brow was furrowed and he looked miserable. He whimpered softly in his sleep.

It broke Jack's heart. 

“Bitty.” Jack gently shook his boyfriends shoulder and that's all it took. Bittys eyes shot open and he looked at Jack in a panic, as if he was still in the grasp of the dream. His breath was coming in short hard bursts. He pushed himself away from Jack, almost off the bed. 

“Bittle, Bitty, it's me. It's okay.” Jack said as calmly as he could manage. He reached out and gently touched Bittys shoulder. Bitty didn't push him away again but he was still looking around in a panic. 

“Bits, I need you to breathe.” Jack said softly, repeating what had been told to him when we he had panic attacks like this. “Try breathing in for 7 seconds and out for 10, okay?”

Bitty nodded shakily. His breath rattled going in but it was smoother coming out. 

“Try again.” Bitty nodded again and it was smoother than before.

Jack kept Bitty breathing slowly until he didn't have to count anymore and he had calmed enough that it seemed like he might able able to talk.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked. He had started rubbing circles on Bittys back. 

“I think so.” The smaller man croaked. “Water?” 

“I'll go grab you some.” Jack rolled out of bed and left the room. He came back quickly, holding a glass of water.

Bitty sat up and took the offered water. He drank some before setting it on the bedside table. Jack sat down beside him and Bitty leaned into him. 

“Sorry for waking you.” He muttered. He buried his head against Jacks shoulder.”I didn't mean to.”

“It's fine Bits.” Jack wrapped his arm around Bittys waist and pulled him closer. He nuzzled his face into Bittys hair. “I'm glad you did. Are you okay?”

Bitty shrugged. “It was just a nightmare.” 

“.....Do you want to talk about it?” Jack asked hesitantly. “Would it help?”

“...Maybe.” Bitty sighed.He took Jacks hand in his own and rubbed circles on it with his thumb, more for his comfort than Jacks. “Did I ever tell you the closet story?”

Jack frowned. “No, I don't think so.”

Bitty sighed again. “Its not a particularly happy one, Ill admit. There also isn't a lot to it. Essentially, in the 7th grade, half of the boys football team decided that it would be a blast to beat up me up and throw me in a utility closet.” Bitty laughed bitterly. “No one was able to find me until the next day. Coach had searched everywhere he could think and Mama was calling everyone in town to try and track me down. Eventually, the school janitor found me when he came to grab a new mop head but that wasn't until the next afternoon and I had already screamed myself hoarse and mute.”

Jack stared at him with wide eyes. Anger flared up in Jack, an uncontrollable burn in his chest. It wasn't directed at Bitty, an anger like that never could be. But those football players….if Jack ever had the fortune of meeting them, he would not be quiet. 

It took pure effort on Jacks part to find his calm voice through the anger. “So your nightmare was about that?”

“Yes.” Bitty didnt look at him, his face still buried in Jacks shoulder. “It was more than ten years ago, I should have gotten over it by now but it still scares me. So much. Its embarrassing.”

“Bitty, no.” Jack took Bitty by the shoulders and turned him to face him. “You don't have to have forgotten it. It is something horrible that happened to you it's okay that it scares you. Its okay that it scared you then and it's okay that it scares you now.”

Tears welled in Bittys eyes. Jack hugged Bitty tightly. “You don't have to be ashamed of being scared, Bitty. It doesn't change you at all.”

Bittys arms wrapped themselves tightly around Jacks waist and Jack could feel small pinpoints of wetness seeping through his shirt. Jack held Bitty against him and rubbed his back until Bitty looked up at Jack through glittering eyelashes. 

“I love you, Jack Laurent Zimmermann.” Bitty said. He smiled, not his usual Bittle smile but a more tired and quieter version of it but it still made Jacks heart glow.

“I love you too, Eric Richard Bittle.” Jack responded. 

Bittys smile was interrupted with a large yawn. Jack chuckled. 

“Come on Bits, lets go back to sleep. Ill protect you from the nightmares this time.” Jack chirped. 

Bitty giggled and him and Jack shimmed back under the covers

They fell back asleep with their arms wrapped around each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> Im trying to get back into writing fics so if yall have any imput or ideas, hmu over on my blog @kentuckyfriedbooks on tumblr  
> (title of fic is from the Elton John song This Song Has No Title


End file.
